March is the beginning of Spring and we all delight in discovering the first signs. Look for the Forsythia to start it's cheerful yellow display and for the pussy willow's to put out their catkins. Spring bulbs will start peaking their heads out of the soil. You might be enjoying flowering Crocus and Daffodils already. In bloom now are Christmas or Lenten Rose. Pieris in pinks and whites, Oregon Grape with its golden blossoms, and Dwarf Rhodies in magentas are all in their glory this month. Towards the end of the month is a great time to start a cool season garden. David recommends activating your soil by working Dr. Earth fertilizer products into your soil this month.. We will have a great selection of potatoes
and onions arriving after March 15th.

Spring is on the way and even though we experienced some good snowfall this past year, we still need to conserve water when we are thinking of a landscape design. Now is a great time to plan and plant a Great Basin drought tolerant garden. Plant selection will involve selecting plants that like full sun and are classified as low water use plants and best of all are native to the Great Basin.

SINGLE-LEAF PINION PINE - Greenhouse Garden Center is very pleased to have in stock this Spring Single-leaf Pinion Pines. We were only able to get in 16 of these beauties and they will be going fast in a #5 container. These trees are difficult to come by partly because they are so hard to germinate in a nursery setting. There is no better plant to anchor your Great Basin garden with. The gray-green color and neat/bold growth habit of this pine will provide a rustic backdrop to the garden. The Pinion Pine is a slow growing tree with an average height of 8'-15' and a width of 4'-8'. The cones are typically 4.5-8 cm. long and are the source of the pine nuts that we all enjoy eating and cooking with.

APACHE PLUME - Apache Plume is an evergreen shrub which thrives on gravelly and rocky slopes, roadsides and dry washes. This shrub is a member of the rose family and in the late Spring/early Summer will bloom a round, white flower with yellow centers. It develops a puffy fruit head which can range in color from white to pink. The leaves are small, downy and grey and slightly curved downward. Typically this shrub gets 4'-8' tall.

MOUNTAIN MAHOGANY - Mountain Mahogany is an aromatic evergreen shrub or multi-stemmed tree ranging in height from 5'-12' tall and wide. It does well in dry, coarse soil and will tolerate some shade. Once again, this plant can be hard to come by because it is difficult to germinate in a nursery setting. Even thought this plant will flower from May to July the blossom is very unremarkable. The leaves are lanced shaped with rolled margins with dark green tops and white bottoms. The Curl-leaf Mountain Mahogany is very good forage of all classes of browsing animals in all seasons.

BURR OAK - For a little shade in your Great Basin garden consider the Burr Oak. Unlike some of the other plants mentioned you should have no trouble finding this tree. The Burr Oak is very tolerant of poor and alkali soil conditions. It has a deep tap root system which penetrates to lowered water tables in dry periods. It can have a shrubby look and is a slow grower averaging maybe a foot a year. A mature Burr Oak will get 100 feet tall but probably not in your life time so consider purchasing a larger, more mature tree. This deciduous tree has a bloom time in mid Spring and will start producing acorns early on.

RUSSIAN SAGE - Russian Sage is a delightful perennial flower choice for your Great Basin garden. Russian Sage will give the garden color from mid summer into early fall. It has wispy lavender flowers on long stalks with silvery foliage. It can get 3'-5' tall and 3' wide. Best of all it is deer resistant.

PENSTEMONS - Penstemons come in a variety of colors ranging through the blues and reds, pinks and red and white and bloom all season long. These flowers are very drought tolerant as well as being perfect hummingbird food. The flower spikes can range in height from 1'-4' tall.

"As you plan your Great Basin garden we hope you will consider all of these plants as well as many more plant ideas that our qualified staff can direct you to. All of these plants are available at Greenhouse Garden Center for this season."

1. Spray Florel once a week for 3 weeks on the greenish flowers on elms and cottonwoods and red flowers on silver maples. No seeds, no cotton, and no boxelder bugs!
2. There is still time in the first two weeks of March to spray Dormant Oil and Disease Control on trees and shrubs.
3. Seed selection is great at this time of year. Select from Botanical Interests, Ferry-Morse or Burpee seeds. We stock many organic and heirloom varieties.
4. Dig organic materials into your vegetable and flower garden for bigger crops and efficient water use. Paydirt, Bumper Crop, or Black Forest Compost are three blended organic mixes that are perfect for flower and vegetable beds. One bag of any of these organics will cover 50 square feet of garden area.
5. Fertilize your lawn with Best Turf Supreme or Master Green. Both have high sulfur rates for a healthy green lawn.
6. Apply FST or Dr. Iron to all evergreens.
7. Use Tree and Shrub Insect Control on all ornamental trees and shrubs. Bayer Fruit Tree and Vegetable Garden Insect Control may be applied to all fruit trees at this time. Either of these products are a once a year application.
8. Start planting in the garden at the end of the month. Cool season crops can be directly plant into the ground. This includes vegetables such as carrots, peas, onions, cabbage and lettuce. Apply Master Start fertilizer to promote strong root growth.
9. It's not too late to apply Casoron especially in the first part of the month. Casoron is safe to use around existing trees and shrubs and a great way to avoid weeding all summer long. Remember to avoid turf and make sure to water in well.
10. Remove 80% of the salt water from the pond for healthy fish and plants. Add freshwater slowly over a 2 week period.

A great way to shake off the winter blues and get a jump on spring is to start plants from seed indoors. It's not only fun and easy to do but also rewarding, since it allows home gardeners the opportunity to grow plant varieties that may not be available from local plant growers. The opportunities are endless with many unique varieties of flowers, vegetables, and even ornamental vines available in seed form.

To get started, come visit our seed department. Once you have made your selections, look on the back of the packet for basic information such as germination time and an estimate of how long to grow the plant indoors before transplanting into the garden. Find out the average safe date for transplanting your plant in our area, and then count backwards to find out how early you can start your seeds. If you have a greenhouse or cold frame to transplant into, adjust accordingly.

The best containers to use are shallow seed starting trays with covers. Another option is to use peat pots, but plastic or clay pots will do just fine in a pinch. If using containers from a previous growing season, wash them with a solution of one part household bleach to nine parts water to sterilize them. This helps prevent the transfer of disease.

For good germination results, fill your containers with a light soil mix that has good drainage and moisture retention properties. Do not use garden soil. Make sure to wet your soil mix and allow it to drain before sowing the seeds into your containers.

Find a warm location in your home with plenty of light, or an area where you can mount a light above the plants. Most plants need only moisture and warmth to germinate, but will need the light to grow once they sprout leaves. Plain fluorescent light bulbs are fine when starting seeds but consider using at least one "grow light" tube if you are going to keep the plants under lights for an extended time (if you are trying to get full-sized plants by transplant time, you'll need a grow light or a very bright window). Remember that seedlings will quickly become weak and leggy plants if they don't receive enough light.

Seeds generally need a soil temperature above 65º to germinate. If you have trouble maintaining that temperature, consider using a heating mat. Covering your containers with plastic will help hold in moisture and create a humid environment that encourages the seed to germinate. That's why covered seed starting trays are the easiest containers to use.

Make sure your plants don't get too hot under the plastic, especially if you have the containers in a sunny area or under a warm light. Remove the plastic as soon as you see any signs of germination. Keep the soil mix evenly moist, and use lukewarm water if possible. Water very gently to avoid disturbing the tender seedlings.

When your seed germinates, it will send up a sprout with two seed leaves called cotyledons. After that, true leaves will follow. Begin feeding your seedlings weekly with a half-strength solution of fertilizer (ask us which is best for what you are growing) when the first true leaves develop. Continue feeding the seedlings until they are ready to be transplanted. The plants will be ready when the entire root ball is held together by the plant roots.

Make sure to harden off your plants before transplanting them into the garden. ("Hardening off" is the process of acclimating plants to the light, humidity, and temperatures found outdoors.) Start by placing your seedling containers outdoors in a shaded, sheltered location for a couple of hours per day. Gradually increase the time spent outside by an hour each day for at least a week before transplanting the seedling. With the exception of tomatoes, plant the seedlings at the same level they were grown in their pot. Tomatoes can be buried deeper than they grew in the pot--they will grow roots from the buried portion of the stem.

After transplanting, if your neighbors ask where you bought all those wonderful plants, just tell them, "They're truly homegrown!"

If you haven't already done so, make sure to protect your fruit trees from pests and disease by applying a dormant spray to them. Most fruit trees should be sprayed at least twice--once in January when they are fully dormant and once again at bud swell.

It's helpful to combine a dormant oil spray with a fungicide at the same time so you only have to spray once. This important spraying will help prevent fungus diseases such as dead bud and peach-leaf curl, in addition to knocking out any overwintering insects or insect eggs.

Since different varieties of fruit trees bloom at different times, it's important to make sure you apply your spray at the proper time for maximum effectiveness. Our staff of garden experts will be happy to guide and advise you with all your spray applications.